Does Smoking Weed Stunt Your Growth?

Dr. Corroon was recently quoted in this article entitled, "Does Smoking Weed Stunt Your Growth, Research has found a correlation between marijuana use and height, but other experts aren’t so sure"

"While interesting (and alarming), there are some who take issue with studies like these. “There are two problems with these types of observational studies,” explains Jamie Corroon, founder of the Center for Medical Cannabis Education and medical advisor for CV Sciences, the makers of PlusCBD. “First, the findings are purely associations — cause and effect cannot be established.” It’s possible, for instance, that weed-smoking boys in Pakistan just so happen to face other challenges that impact their height and weight, such as the food they have access to.

The other problem Corroon has is that this study doesn’t account for exactly how much weed everyone involved was smoking. “If a study compares users versus non-users, then you’re including chronic, daily users in the same group as those who’ve only used it once or twice, which doesn’t make sense,” he says. “To draw a strong conclusion, there would need to be a dose-response relationship whereby more frequent use was associated with shorter stature, after adjusting for other factors that influence height. I haven’t seen that study.”

Corroon isn’t the only one who feels this way, either. A 2018 systematic review of studies on how cannabis affects puberty found that no available research met their “eligibility criteria.” As such, the review concludes, “Our results highlight a significant gap in existing literature regarding the effects of cannabis use on puberty.”

Read the entire article here.